Captain Darren Y. Lin joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in July 2019 as a percussionist. He was appointed Assistant Director in July 2021 and commissioned to the rank of 1st Lieutenant in January 2022. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in September 2023 and appointed Associate Director in December 2023.

Capt. Lin is a 2009 graduate of Hershey High School in Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance and a teacher’s certificate in 2014 from the University of Michigan (U-M) in Ann Arbor; a master’s degree in percussion performance and literature in 2016 from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York; and pursued additional studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. His principal percussion teachers were J. William Hudgins of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Michael Burritt of the Eastman School of Music, and Joseph Gramley and Jonathan Ovalle of U-M. He also has studied conducting with Christopher James Lees, Michael Haithcock, and Rodney Dorsey.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Capt. Lin was an active educator and performer. He was the adjunct instructor of percussion at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., and performed frequently with the Buffalo Philharmonic in Buffalo, N.Y., the New Haven Symphony in Connecticut, and the New World Symphony in Miami. He has performed under the batons of conductors like Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Andris Nelsons, and JoAnn Falletta. He is equally at home performing contemporary music, having performed with the NakedEye Ensemble and both founding and leading the group [sunflower]. He has worked closely with composers Steve Reich and John Luther Adams, and has premiered works by Dave Hollinden, Molly Joyce, Angélica Negrón, Randall Woolf, and Chris Vu.

As Assistant Director, Capt. Lin’s responsibilities include conducting the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra in their winter and spring concert series and summer concerts on the National Mall as well as at ceremonies in the national capital region and at the White House. Additionally, he serves as a supervisor for the acclaimed fall and winter Chamber Music Series, which features the virtuoso musicians of “The President’s Own,” as well as all pre-concert music.